Who I am

Someone I was getting to know in Oregon asked me who I was one night. I had to think about it for a bit, and (building on what I wrote in Purpose), here are the best answers I could come up with:

I am a member of wonderful families
I am a son, a brother, a cousin, and – for those of great caliber engaged in mutual support – a loyal friend, trusted partner, or cherished lover.

I am a guardian
I am a vigilant guardian, a tender caregiver, and a competent, professional leader.  I strive to bring order to chaos, comfort to pain, treatment to the ill or injured, and solutions to problems without shrinking from the challenges or obstacles I face in my path.

I seek to make a difference in the lives of my fellow man by using the privileges, gifts, talents, random experience, and fabulous education that I inherited or pursued for the betterment of my world and those in it.

I am a builder and creator
I am an entrepreneurial relationship builder, meticulous organizer, and resourceful problem solver. I foster enterprise, instigate events, build or develop relationships, and refine systems or processes for shared successes. I create art and tell stories to share experiences, entertain, and inform.

I am an advocate
I believe, support, advocate or hold space for, and treat the visible and invisible wounds of those who have been marginalized for their identity or expression, and for those victimized by crimes of exploitation or physical and sexual violence.

I can be a powerful foe
For those foolish enough to pose a threat to the people and places I hold dear, I can be a formidable foe.  I take note of risks, craft plans to mitigate danger, or prepare people or resources to communicate, and respond in emergencies.  If dire necessity should require it, I will locate, engage with, and destroy the threat with the appropriate tools, tactics, or force required and available to me at the time.